Five Takeaways: Maranatha Christian 79 St. Croix Prep 58
The 8th ranked Mustangs from MCA picked up a big win knocking off the 5th ranked team in the state by a wide margin. And they did it with a team effort. Here are our five takeaways. Moving on Up!…
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Continue ReadingThe 8th ranked Mustangs from MCA picked up a big win knocking off the 5th ranked team in the state by a wide margin. And they did it with a team effort. Here are our five takeaways.
Moving on Up! With this victory the Mustangs improved to 12-1 on the season and they did it in a big way. St. Croix Prep recently knocked off Caledonia and they did it in an even more impressive way than Minneapolis North did. Meanwhile Holy Family’s recent struggles brought MCA down a bit because they beat MCA. Now the Mustangs hammered a top five team in the state and are looking at being a top five Class AA squad in the state themselves. The ranking means nothing compared to the spot they have in Section 5AA which right now should be in the top two. What’s wild is that nearly half of the top ten (Holy Family, MCA, Breck, Minneapolis North) is from this section and let’s not forget about Litchfield who is right behind them ranking wise.
The Game Changer. MCA and SCP went back and forth with each team stretching things a bit but once the Mustang athletes got out and picked up St. Croix Prep full court the game was over. MCA forced their opponents into constant turnovers leading a quick double figure point run and essentially a 20 plus point win. Who do you point to as standing out? Really everyone but Maciah Harut’s intensity of play really stood out. The way he attacked the ball, the lane, and overall the game really was inspiring. Six points, six boards, six assists, and several steals led the way. Hakim Daniels, Justin Mason, Christian Davis, etc, all of these guys played well. Davis scored 11 and Clarence Daniels put up 14 points and seven rebounds, but it was a total team effort.
Statement game? I want to say it again, Maranatha Christian wins with balance. They only have one player that averages double figures but they do have six guys scoring between seven and nine a game. MCA junior Hakim Daniels is averaging team highs of 12 and 8 every game this year but in the big game situation Hakim did even more. Daniels went at the rim for scores on 11 of 15 shots putting up 24 points. Hakim chased down 14 boards and moved the ball for six assists. He did some of everything and that I think is what can really separate him as a player prospect in the future. Hakim works so hard and does so much more than many other players.
Addison’s Challenge. When you play a big game some guys rise to the challenge, others don’t. Simple fact. Addison Metcalf is scoring 14.5 points a game but it’s not scoring production that made the sophomore standout, it was the battle. Addison bounced through and around many of the MCA athletes to collect a dozen boards and scored a dozen points. He would of liked to shoot better but Metcalf’s fight against a top team with top athletes spoke volumes. Nolan Grubisch is the team’s third leading scorer and he gave 16 points on four threes.
What’s Next? These teams play again on January 31st only this time out in Stillwater. Between now and then MCA should handle all the games in a solid way. They’ve played a tough schedule up to this point so it’s their Gonzaga portion of the schedule, and they have to handle it right. The same can be said for St. Croix Prep who also has several winnable games before that January 31st date.